is there hope that the free refurbished Tivo is offered again soon? also the ad's on side still show the offer that is expired.

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Doesn't hurt to call and see what they are offering now. Why not just buy a used Premiere? Get one off of Craigslist for $50 - $75 and you don't have to have a 2 year contract at $19.99. At that price $19.99 x 24 = $479.76) you could buy PLS upfront if you can afford the upfront cost.

Not much of a deal since the monthly fee is $5/mo more and you have to commit to two years. After the commitment period you'll have paid $120 for the TiVo. You can just buy one for $80 and only have to pay $14.99/mo with just a 1 year commitment.

This is true, you can't PLS on a box that has a term committment. You could however go along with the first suggestion and just find a used box on craigslist and then pay $399 for the PLS if you can afford the upfront cost.

Not much of a deal since the monthly fee is $5/mo more and you have to commit to two years. After the commitment period you'll have paid $120 for the TiVo. You can just buy one for $80 and only have to pay $14.99/mo with just a 1 year commitment.

Dan

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It's not supposed to be a great deal. Some people can't come up with $80 upfront. It's supposed to get customers that can't (or choose not to be able to) afford the regular purchase price.

If it were an expensive box then I'd understand that, but it's only $80. If you can't afford $80 then you probably shouldn't be buying luxuries like a TiVo in the first place.

Dan

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but why pay $160 up front when they offer this deal occasionally and then it's only $40 per month with no up front costs? like I said we most likely will be waiting for Cox on demand to launch through tivo first.

Because, as I said in my initial post, it's cheaper over the long run. Basically this deal is extending you a line of credit and you're paying $10/mo interest (on two units) over the two year contract. If you can afford the $160 then why bother paying interest on it? I can guarantee you that $160 is not going to earn you $80 over the next two years, so why spend $80 to save it?

I know everyone has their own ideas when it comes to financial stuff, but in my opinion you should avoid paying interest whenever possible. The only time I do financing is when the item I'm buying costs more then I have in the bank or when there is some sort of 0% deal, and then I make sure to pay it off before the term expires. The amount you earn on interest from saving the money is always less then the amount you pay to borrow the money. (this is how banks make money) So unless you're a very skilled day trader or a very lucky gambler it's really not worth saving the cash and paying interest to borrow it instead.

Because, as I said in my initial post, it's cheaper over the long run. Basically this deal is extending you a line of credit and you're paying $10/mo interest (on two units) over the two year contract. If you can afford the $160 then why bother paying interest on it? I can guarantee you that $160 is not going to earn you $80 over the next two years, so why spend $80 to save it?

I know everyone has their own ideas when it comes to financial stuff, but in my opinion you should avoid paying interest whenever possible. The only time I do financing is when the item I'm buying costs more then I have in the bank or when there is some sort of 0% deal, and then I make sure to pay it off before the term expires. The amount you earn on interest from saving the money is always less then the amount you pay to borrow the money. (this is how banks make money) So unless you're a very skilled day trader or a very lucky gambler it's really not worth saving the cash and paying interest to borrow it instead.

Pay $0 down for the Premiere box, pay $19.99/mo. with a 2 year commitment (So TiVo is guaranteed they get their money for the cost of the box).

If you 'pay' for the box up front, you can get a lower monthly subscription rate.
Pay $149 for the Premiere box up front, pay $14.99/mo, with a 1 year commitment (again, so TiVo gets their money back for the cost of the box).

You can also call TiVo and request to pay full price for the box, for no commitment pricing.

Each of those options will equal out for TiVo in the long run.

For me, a REAL deal would be something like an offer for a lifetime transfer from an S2 or earlier Tivo to a Premiere for something like $199.